And Wolf stops talking.
“Damn, Luka. Possessive much?” Hunter snorts.
“Yeah, I was just trying to say that ballerinas are all about core strength. Man’s going to die. She’ll fold him like laundry.”
“He wishes,” JP mutters with a chuckle.
“I give him five minutes before he taps out,” Hunter adds.
Wolf nods. “I’d say that’s generous.”
Luka just points at me. “Touch my sister, and I’ll kill you.”
“Do I need to remind you that it’s part of the marriage vows?” Trey says, who might be the only one not scared to piss off Luka.
Luka glares.
I decide my best bet to get through today is just to ignore them all. I have other issues on my mind anyway, like my mother, the forty-two text messages she’s definitely going to send when our wedding photos hit social media, Katerina looking terrified in that private airfield hangar last night.
It’s a lot.
But the second I put the tux on?
Everything stops.
I look in the mirror and I look like… a groom. Someone who has to protect the woman who’s depending on him.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, because of this? This just got real.
The tailor takes a look at the suit, walks around me with a confirming nod. “The wedding planner on the other side of the salon said that she wants to see the tux on you to confirm she’s happy with it.”
I nod and then head towards where the tailor told me that Juliet would be. Anything to get me out of this room for any length of time.
Juliet is my saving grace.
KATERINA
I hear a knock on the penthouse door.
Juliet Haynes, the Coach’s wife, our last-minute wedding planner, and the woman my brother is subleasing this penthouse from, is here to pick me up for a dress fitting. My brother told me that I’d meet the other girlfriends and wives of the players as they are all getting fitted as bridesmaids.
Is my brother going over the top with this wedding? Yes, yes, he is.
And to be honest, I think I’m more nervous to meet these women today than I was on the opening night of my first performance. What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t fit in with them?
I walk to the door and open it, a wardrobe bag in hand with my dress inside.
“Hi, Katerina. I’m Juliet. Are you ready to go?”
Getting across town doesn’t take as long as it would have if we had been in New York, but the traffic is still bumper-to-bumper in some places.
Juliet fills me in on the wedding details. About the rooftop venue, she secured that it’s usually two years out for bookings, the white and blush tulips that she had flown in because they are out of season, but my brother insisted. Every detail she lists makes to sound gorgeous, and I’m sure it will be. She’s known for her celebrity events and weddings, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m marrying a stranger… even if that stranger has kind eyes and that boyish grin that I couldn’t stop seeing in my mind as I fell asleep last night.
“I also booked you the honeymoon suite at the hotel across from Oakley’s. It’s gorgeous, and since you won’t have a proper honeymoon, it’s a little something I can do.”
“The honeymoon suite?” I say, shock running through me. I hadn’t considered what the expectations for our wedding night would be. I mean, this whole thing is temporary anyway. And he doesn’t know I’m a virgin. It’s not something I planned on losing to a man I don’t know… even if he’s my husband.
Before I can ask follow-up questions or ask her to cancel, we pull up to the bridal salon. I see my brother’s truck too.
